Muslims demand proof on bin Laden

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- An aged imam who abhors bloodshed in Allah's name has no sympathy for those who chant praises to Osama bin Laden. But, like most Pakistanis, he makes the same demand: Show us the proof. \n"Those who did this are not Muslims, not Jews, not Christians," said Mohammed Ameer Shah Gillani, 82, with family roots 450 years deep in this ancient hub of South Asia. "They are killers. But who are they?" \nTwo weeks after assaults on the United States, initial shock has faded into nagging difficult questions for people used to things not being what they seem. \nThe imam cited tenets of the Quran, as well as the Bible and the legal system that British colonizers brought. "If you kill innocent people to punish," he said, "you only compound the crime." \nHis son Ghulam ul Sayedain, 56, who fondly recalls 12 years in America, agreed. "I hate this man, bin Laden, and how he blackens Islam," he said. "Still, what evidence says he did this thing?" \nSayedain's voice rose with anger as he talked of Sept. 11. \n"The American people should find and kill terrorists throughout the world," he said. "If they need help, I am ready. The culprits belong to Satan. They have no right to play with lives. First, I want proof." \nThree brothers added their assent. Yes, they had heard Secretary of State Colin Powell say he had an ironclad case but could not reveal details. All five Gillanis dismissed this out of hand. \n"If we do not hear the evidence, then we will not believe the Americans," the imam said. \nPakistanis may admire America, Sayedain said, but few carry that to blind faith. In the past, he explained, people have seen from Washington too many half-truths, damaging blunders and cynical policy shifts. \nThe Gillanis' view is heard widely in cities and comfortable suburbs across Pakistan. In destitute neighborhoods like those ringing the old center of Peshawar, views are often less nuanced. \n"Israel did it," said Mohammed Wali, 21, with thick black hair and a piercing gaze. "Just before the attack, 4,000 Jews secretly left the World Trade Center. I know this. The source was American intelligence." \nThis version, down to its far-fetched details, has blanketed the Peshawar region, the Gillanis asked about it, and many accept it as fact. Some imams preach it in mosques. \n"I am certain this is true, even my grandfather told me," said 20-year-old Mohammed Ishaq. "The Jews took all their money, and they fled. Israelis want to blame bin Laden and Muslims." \nRaanan Gissin, one of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's top aides, has dismissed the claim of Israeli involvement in the attacks as "nonsense." The Bush administration has made it clear it considers bin Laden and his al-Qaida organization responsible for the attacks, and European countries have arrested more than a dozen suspects allegedly linked to bin Laden. \nHowever, a show of hands among the Wali's eight friends showed they shared his view that Israel was behind the attacks. Each said they had heard it on the radio or had read it in newspapers. All cited the source as U.S. intelligence officers. \nWali, who describes his work as "business," had just walked out of Afghanistan over unwatched passes used by smugglers. Afghans fear American bombings, he said, but would protect bin Laden. \nWhen asked to reconcile contradictions in his version of events, Wali stood firm. "Can anyone prove that bin Laden did it?" he asked. "Who would benefit most? Jews want to destroy Islam and take over America"